Vietnam appreciates ADB’s assistance

Vietnam always sees the Asian Development Bank (ADB) one of the leading sponsors with important contributions to the country's socio-economic development, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday with Vice President of the ADB Stephen Groff, who is on a working visit to Vietnam.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives ADB Vice President Stephen Groff on September 19 (Photo: VNA)

PM Phuc appreciated loans, technical assistance, and policy consultancy provided by ADB and valuable assistance that enabled Vietnam to achieve socio-economic development achievements.

He hailed ADB for having acknowledged and supporting Vietnam’s economic achievements and noted that the country, though having obtained growth and poverty reduction outcomes, is still facing challenges in sustainable poverty reduction, uneven development, and unforeseeable climate change.

The government leader briefed his guest on projects and programnmes using ADB’s loans in 2017-2018 and affirmed that the Vietnamese Government has hastened the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Finance Ministry and other agencies to fast-track negotiations so Asian Development Fund (ADF) preferential loans could be utilized before the country makes the ADF graduation in 2019.

Groff for his part extended his sympathy with the Vietnamese Government and people over great losses caused by storm Doksuri and congratulated the PM and the Vietnamese Government on successfully maintaining the macro-economic stability, promoting economic growth, and reforming State-owned enterprises.

The ADB Vice President hailed the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to introduce solutions for managing socio-economic affairs, especially when it has been imposed a public debt cap by the National Assembly, while seeking capital sources to develop infrastructure and spur growth.

Groff affirmed ADB's readiness to assist Vietnam in analysing and assessing the efficiency of capital sources, thus helping its government to choose proper ones in service of its development goals with the highest efficiency.

He highly noted the scope of the upcoming conference on shaping the climate change-adapted sustainable development model transformation for the Mekong delta, affirming the lender’s willingness to provide technical assistance and share experience in the field with Vietnam.

The ADB Vice President suggested Vietnam accelerate the implementation and capital disbursement of ODA-loaned projects, demonstrating the lender’s readiness to work with the Vietnamese Government on measures to tackle the issue./.

VNF/VOV